Read January Dawn for Free Online

Independence back in the early 1860s. Beauregard had an oblong face, a pug nose and a wide mouth. A pair of wide brimmed, thick lensed glasses made his eyes look bigger than they actually were.
    “Yeah, I know. Powdered eggs, burnt toast, and nasty, overly-processed sliced pig,” Shannon said in his slow Texan drawl.
    I didn’t know what “powdered eggs” or “overly-processed pig” meant. All I knew was that the food was good. And no matter what anybody else said I would still eat it.
    “How’s it going, boys?” Carrigan asked, joining us at the table.
    “Pre-School is pitching another conniption fit over the food,” Beauregard said.
    “Count yourself lucky, Shannon,” Carrigan said. “I haven’t tasted bacon in over a year. You couldn’t find it anywhere back home in Virginia. It was all reserved for military consumption.”
    “Was that how the recruiter hooked you in, Carrigan? He promised you all the bacon you could eat?” Hayes asked.
    Everyone had a good laugh at that one, except me, I just sat there smiling.
    “You know, Tennpenny, it is okay to be human every once in a while and let out a laugh or two,” Hayes said.
    I tried to keep to myself whenever I could, but for some reason these same people kept flocking to me and hanging around me. I liked the company, but I didn’t see how I was much of a draw. They found out quickly enough that getting me to talk was going to be a tougher task than surviving Basic.
    “Hey, I got a letter from my Ma yesterday. She says my uncle sent her a letter from the front saying that we have the Yankees on the run in Richmond.”
    “Bullshit, Hayes!” Carrigan called out.
    “Aint no joke. My uncle wouldn’t lie,” Hayes said defensively.
    “Hayes, we’ve been fighting over Richmond for nearly two years. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. I grew up there. My family was forced to move out when the city was put under siege. It has passed from our hands to their hands countless times. If we did take it, I’ll wager that the Yankees will take it back by the end of the month.”
    “Yeah, well, as soon as they put me up on the line it won’t matter, I’ll end this war before Christmas. I’ll push those Yankee bastards back, march right down Pennsylvania Avenue and plant the Southern Cross on the North Lawn myself.” Hayes said.
    Beauregard nearly choked. “Your stupid ass couldn’t even find the United States on a map.”
    “Damn Beauregard, why do you have to be so negative all the time?”
    “Someone has to drag your inflated imagination back to reality. It might as well be me.”
    I opened the lid on my yogurt and listened to the back and forth bantering between the comedic duo, but my eyes wandered the room watching all the activity in the mess hall. I had not had much contact with the rest of First Platoon, besides the four at my table.
    In fact, I made a concentrated effort to keep my head down and avoid talking to anyone, but being perpetually coupled with an entire platoon made that especially difficult. I liked to stay small as best I could to avoid any unnecessary attention.
    Even though I hovered around the shadows, I constantly maintained an attentive attitude, listening and watching everyone, absorbing information about anything and everything. During classes, I listened intently to all the drill instructors. They were all combat veterans and what they were sharing was invaluable.
    Even when I was lounging in my bunk in the barracks, I’d eavesdrop on conversations around the room. That’s how I learned names.
    It was my intention to satiate my thirst for knowledge. All information was useful information. I was in a whole new world and I needed to get acquainted real fast.
    Eighteen years of my life were stolen. Damn if I’m going to let anything or anybody stand in my way of catching up on that lost time .
    I finished off the last of my eggs, piled the crumbs and other leftovers into a neat little pile and scooped them onto my fork and into